Indian Railways lines up 54 PPP Projects worth Rs 1.8 lakh crore as private sector role expands
NEW DELHI : Indian Railways is preparing a major expansion of private participation, with 54 projects worth around Rs 1.8 lakh crore identified for development through public-private partnerships (PPP). Nearly half of the proposed projects involve railway track construction.
The scale of the proposed pipeline is substantially larger than the Railways’ existing PPP portfolio.
“So far, 18 projects of Rs 16,686 crore have been completed through the PPP model. Seven projects worth Rs 16,362 crore are under implementation, including coal connectivity and port connectivity projects,” a Business Standard report quoted the ministry report as saying.
The proposed projects include several large infrastructure packages. These include the Rs 9,562-crore Itarsi-Manikpur third-line project and the Rs 8,321-crore Haridaspur-Vizianagaram fourth-line project.
The pipeline also covers seven trainset maintenance depots estimated at Rs 21,000 crore, wagon maintenance facilities worth Rs 6,400 crore and power projects valued at Rs 44,500 crore.
The ministry disclosed the plans to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways in its response to earlier recommendations on its demand for grants.
The committee has called for simpler approval procedures and clearer risk-sharing arrangements to make PPP projects more attractive to investors while protecting the Railways’ financial interests..
It also urged greater involvement of state governments and local bodies in new-line and gauge-conversion projects, particularly to help resolve land, clearance and utility-related hurdles.
